Format: ORAL

Valerie C. Pence1, Emily B. Bruns1,2, Megan Philpott1, Melissa Duda1,3

1 Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, USA 2 Botanic Gardens Conservation International--US, San Marino, USA 3 Northwestern University, Evanston, USA

Exceptional species cannot be conserved in conventional seed banks and will require other approaches for long-term, ex situ conservation. Cryobiotechnologies can be harnessed to preserve exceptional species, but currently these methods are not being implemented on the needed scale. Our recent analysis of the literature has shown that there are significant gaps in knowledge of cryopreservation and the supporting in vitro technologies in their application to exceptional species, particularly with exceptional tree species. While a high proportion of exceptional species are trees, a much lower proportion of trees are represented in both the cryopreservation and in vitro literature, with a particular gap in tropical trees. Filling these gaps and scaling up application will require developments in both science and technology. Currently, developing cryopreservation and in vitro protocols is primarily an experimental process, and information and tools are needed to develop greater predictability and efficiency. Deeper analyses and understanding of reported research are needed, and the creation and analysis of large datasets of information could facilitate this. The Comparative In Vitro Database and the Comparative Cryopreservation Database will be introduced as platforms for these data that will align them with taxonomic, morphological, and climatic data to evaluate patterns and move toward the goal of predictability in developing new protocols. The companion Media Comparison Tool has also been developed, which provides rapid visualization and comparison of the components of tissue culture media as a way of analyzing past research and selecting or developing new formulations for species new to in vitro culture. These tools should both help identify more specific information gaps and help prioritize research for more efficiently applying cryopreservation and in vitro technologies for the ex situ conservation of exceptional tree species. (Research supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.)